Victor Alvarez is in serious trouble. Now seventeen and flunking out of high school, he’s been chosen as the leader of the violent street gang he’s been a member of since he was thirteen. Riley Brewer has just broken a state record as the star of their high school baseball team. When Riley and Victor meet by chance, a connection begins to grow. When friendship turns to love, both young men realize their reputations contradict who they really are. Once their secret relationship is discovered, Victor realizes their lives are at risk. Refusing to hide in order to survive, Riley vows that only death can keep him apart from Victor.
BIO:

David-Matthew Barnes is the award-winning author of the novelsMesmerized, Accidents Never Happen, Swimming to Chicago, Ambrosia, The Jetsetters, Wonderland, and Stronger Than This. He wrote and directed the coming-of-age film Frozen Stars, which received worldwide distribution. He is the author of over forty stage plays that have been performed in three languages in eight countries. His literary work has appeared in over one hundred publications including The Best Stage Scenes, The Best Men's Stage Monologues, The Best Women's Stage Monologues, The Comstock Review,Review Americana, and The Southeast Review. Barnes is the national winner of the Hart Crane Memorial Poetry Award. In addition, he's received the Carrie McCray Literary Award, the Slam Boston Award for Best Play, and earned double awards for poetry and playwriting in the World AIDS Day Writing Contest. Barnes earned a Master of Fine Arts in creative writing at Queens University of Charlotte in North Carolina. Barnes is on the faculty of the Spalding University brief-residency Master of Fine Arts in Writing Program where he mentors students in playwriting, screenwriting, and writing for children and young adults. Barnes is the CEO of the Pinwheel Entertainment Group, a creative company formed to develop and produce new projects in film, television, publishing, and theatre. In addition, he is the host of the morning radio show People You Should Know. Barnes is a member of the Dramatists Guild of America. He lives in the city of Denver.